The truth of the past
It was 11:20 AM, dismissal time for the nearby elementary school. Yu Ran walked around the complex, trying not to miss students from different buildings within the same complex. Jiang Liu stayed on the second floor, hoping to run into parents from different floors within the same building picking up their children.
Jiang Liu found nothing. After waiting for a long time, Yu Ran bought two cups of coffee to refresh himself.
"How is it?" Jiang Liu rolled the wall of the iced coffee cup against his face and closed his eyes comfortably.
"I met a few children in the community, but without exception, they were all picked up by their parents. I didn't go up to ask."
It's noon, and it seems there are no children in this building. Each of us gets a cup of coffee with a little ice left. This refreshing touch is so precious in the hot summer, so we plan to finish it before leaving. "Slurp," "Slurp," he nibbled at the straw when he heard footsteps.
We climbed from the first floor to the third floor so quickly that we didn't have time to investigate before the enemy had already come up. It was a chubby little boy with eyes as sweet as lychee pits.
The little boy stopped at the last step from the second floor to the third floor and paused for a second. His expression changed a lot, from being calm (going home), to his cheeks trembling (suddenly seeing two strangers), and finally his brows were filled with contempt (directed at Yu Ran).
"Wow! I was scared to death." He stroked his chest.
Yu Ran smiled, tilted his head and said hello.
In reality, the boy was both envious and afraid of boys his age. Yu Ran's kindness won him favor, and the boy started to speak without restraint, "Brother, are you a smart guy? You're hiding here with your girlfriend on a date..."
He said it simply and righteously.
"I'm not a woman." Jiang Liu squatted down and faced him. He drank the coffee in the cup. He raised his neck and rolled his Adam's apple, "I have the same Adam's apple as you." His breath was cool, like chewing ice and swallowing snow.
"Oh! Sorry, brother. Actually, I can tell you're a boy, but I'm a little unsure. But, but, it's better to mistake a boy for a girl than a girl for a boy!"
"Is this your experience?" Jiang Liu smiled, and his smile was so lingering that it touched the little boy's heart. The little boy thought he had met a soulmate.
Yu Ran immediately added: "Then I'm not a spirited young man either."
The child completely believed in Jiang Liu, but his trust was limited, so he couldn't give much to Yu Ran - because he hadn't seen any evidence.
"You're not good at studying, are you, Spirited Boy? Take out your homework and see if I can do it."
The child put his schoolbag on the ground, zipped it up, and took out his math book. He flipped through the pages, turning to the chapter about chickens and rabbits in the same cage, and pointed a word problem at Yu Ran.
"There are chickens and rabbits in a cage. There are 40 heads on top and 116 feet on the bottom. How many chickens and rabbits are there?" The little boy read the question carefully, occasionally using stress to remind himself. The word "ge" is drawn out with a nasal sound, suggesting a promising future in folk art.
Yu Ran closed his eyes and casually counted: "Chickens, 18; rabbits, 22."
Regardless of whether it was right or not, the speed impressed the little boy.
"Wow!" The child suffered a dimensionality reduction attack.
"He was right." Jiang Liu carried the boy's schoolbag and walked upstairs, saying cheerfully, "Brother, please invite us to your home."
The little boy excitedly directed the way up to the sixth floor. He waited until he could unlock the door before realizing what was happening. He blocked the door frame and tried to save it, "My house is a mess..."
The two older brothers had already taken off their shoes and came in. They had no shoes to change into so they were barefoot.
"Where are your parents?" Jiang Liu put his schoolbag on the sofa. With nowhere to sit, he stood up and looked around. The house was actually a nice one—new, well-lit, and well-planned. But it was ruined by the disorganization of its belongings and the lack of a sense of life or life.
The little boy was at a loss, perhaps regretting inviting two strangers home. Awkward, isn't living in a small house enough?
"You must not have eaten." Yu Ran said, and then found the kitchen skillfully.
The child hurriedly tried to stop Yu Ran, but Yu Ran easily resolved the issue, "Would you like some takeout? Or I can go out and buy your favorite food, which will be faster?" The skylight effect really works every time.
The child finally gave up, and Jiang Liu stopped him to explain the chicken-and-rabbit cage problem. While explaining, he also asked about his situation. Wen Jiaming, 12 years old, was a fifth-grader. He had an older sister in college, and his parents were busy with work, so they didn't come home regularly to make lunch. If he was sure he wouldn't be home, he'd be paid in the morning.
"Oh? Then you're not coming back today?" Jiang Liu straightened the fifteen yuan in his schoolbag pocket and put it into the hidden compartment with a zipper.
There wasn't much food in the kitchen, just potatoes, carrots, and a little pork. It was enough for two child-sized dishes, but it wouldn't have tasted good that way. Steaming the rice took forever, and it was past midnight by the time the three of them finally got in. There were still a few packets of instant noodles in the cupboard...
Yu Ran finally made double-colored pancakes, a mixture of potatoes and flour, garnished with diced carrots, which were colorful, fragrant and delicious.
He found some fried dough sticks in the refrigerator, probably leftover from the morning. An idea struck Yu Ran. He cut the dough sticks into even pieces, stuffed them with softened and chopped instant noodles and marinated meat, and pan-fried them over low heat until both sides were golden brown.
The fried dough sticks were plump and looked like gold ingots, which was very tempting. The only drawback was that I really didn’t have the ingredients to make soup, so I just boiled a large pot of water.
Wen Jiaming had smelled the fragrance early in the morning and his appetite was aroused. He couldn't wait to grab three sets of bowls and chopsticks.
"We don't eat it, you eat it." Jiang Liu said.
Wen Jiaming was worried, feeling neglected, so he brought a kettle and poured each person a glass of boiled water. He had seen large bowls of tea and wine before, but today was the first time he had seen large bowls of water. It was actually more convenient, cooled quickly, and could be drunk without any harm.
"It's so delicious, thank you brothers!" He gobbled it up.
Jiang Liu had helped them review and preview their lessons before dinner, and now that they were full and satisfied, they were completely relaxed.
Seeing that it was time to get down to business, Yu Ran said straight to the point, "Brother, do you know what the grandfather on the third floor does?"
Wen Jiaming froze, with only a trace of trust remaining in his sad eyes, which could slip away at any moment.
"We are not bad people. Would a bad person help you cook or help you with your homework?"
"Trust your first instinct," Jiang Liu said.
"Okay, I believe you!"
Jiang Liu caught his initial change of mood and stopped asking what his grandfather was doing. Instead, he asked, "Brother, what were you afraid of just now?"
"I'm afraid you're here to check on Grandpa."
After careful persuasion, the child finally told what he remembered.
Wen Jiaming only remembered his parents being constantly busy, their work turning into two clouds of hot car exhaust. Starting in second grade, he and his sister would go to his grandfather's house on the third floor after school at noon.
"At my grandfather's house, no one forces us to study. But we have to finish the homework assigned by school before we can play or sleep."
"It doesn't necessarily mean a remedial class, it's more like a daycare center." Jiang Liu whispered.
"Later, my sister and I stopped going."
"How old was your sister at the time?"
"She's 17. She comes here at noon to study and read. She always says there's a lot of information there that can't be bought outside. My uncle, my grandfather's son, has a lot of books that will help her study."
As for why it's closed now, Wen Jiaming said it was "sealed off"—a term his sister corrected him on. He dared not forget. Nor did he dare to think about it.
Although it is not certain whether the child understood the true meaning of "seizure", the fact that he, as young as he was, could say such a serious word shows the seriousness of the situation at that time.
"Probably they are not allowed to make up lessons." Jiang Liu said.
"Can those people hiding deep in the residential building be found? But judging from Jiaming and his sister's activities at the time, the two elders did not run a cram school. Even if they did, at least they didn't charge any fees..." Yu Ran was very indignant.
Now everything is clear. A father and son, with great compassion, provided free tutoring, lunch, and lodging for children in the community, but were reported and shut down. The culprits were likely the cram schools and daycare centers near the school.
Wen Jiaming had learned from his previous experience and was afraid that the two unfamiliar brothers would come to "seal off" the house again, so he became wary.
"Is anyone still living on the third floor?"
"Yes, but the old man is very strange. We don't dare to disturb him."
"Why?"
"My sister said he was sick."
The two of them didn't have the heart to ask what the illness was. They agreed with Wen Jiaming to come back in a few days, so they went back to check the information.
A customer had just sent a WeChat message, asking about Jiang Liu's design draft. Jiang Liu expressed his concerns. First, he and Yu Ran would clear their master's name. Second, Wen Jiaming was the customer's junior fellow apprentice, and his sister was likely around the same age as the customer, in her early twenties. For these two reasons, the customer was certain to tell his story.
When the customer made an appointment to meet, Jiang Liu asked him to come to the studio directly.
"You two are really thoughtful." The customer sat down and introduced himself as Jian Xun. "If you don't tell me what you're investigating, I wouldn't be able to tell you directly. Because it was quite a big deal back then, and our group of people in their early twenties all agreed to keep it secret."
Look at this trip, it was so right!
However, what Jian Xun said was similar to what Wen Jiaming said, but he filled in many details about the activities at the teacher's house.
"The first time I went to Master's house, I met Jiaming's sister. His sister's name was Wen Ruiyi. We often read books in Master's bedroom. At that time, Ruiyi always dragged me to read fantasy novels. Other people's houses were built with cakes and gold and jade, but Master's house was built with books of different texts, pictures and thicknesses. So I thought Master was a more noble and elegant person."
"Where did those books come from?" Yu Ran asked.
"From what I understand, it's because the students don't want them anymore. For example, how many books will be discarded when the second grade moves to the third grade? Not to mention graduation season. And he accepts them from all the middle and high schools nearby. He takes notes, too. Ninety percent of that material is genuinely useful, from elementary school, middle school, and high school. Many people read it last-minute before exams, but they all get scolded by their teachers!"
His expression seemed to make even his master's scolding seem worth remembering.
"Why do you call me Master?" Jiang Liu asked.
"We were like children back then, always calling them teachers. The master would say, 'I haven't taught you anything, I'm unworthy of that title.' One of the older sisters, who was very articulate, suggested calling them 'Master' or 'Master'. She said the emphasis was on the words 'father' and 'grandfather', which were respectful yet friendly. The two older men coaxed her into accepting the idea."
Jian Xun was touched and started talking non-stop:
"Master and Grandmother's collection of books was never dirty. We often helped them dry the books when the weather was nice. The boys would take them to the community flowerbeds, and the girls would help dry them on the balcony or in the hallway. You can imagine the room filling up... not with the fragrance of words, the scent of old book ink is no longer strong, but with the rhythmic sound of books. I got full marks on my high school entrance exam essay because I wrote about my adventure of drying books while listening to books, and I wrote this brilliant line: 'The listener's eyelashes are so full of emotion that they might turn into bird wings and fly away at any moment.'"
He was in tears.
Jiang Liu felt nostalgic, wiped his eyes, turned his head away and didn't look at anyone.
Yu Ran helped Jiang Liu wipe away her tears, and then handed a tissue to Jian Xun.
"Good people don't get good rewards." Such heart-wrenching words would never be recorded in any of the books in my master's collection.
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